


Silk in My Hand, My Heart in Your Hand

by TransTroubadour



Series: Laszlo the Tailor [6]
Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Boys in Skirts, Crying, Dresses, Fluff, GNC Jonny d'Ville, Genderfluid Gunpowder Tim (The Mechanisms), Insecurity, Light Angst, M/M, Makeup, Multi, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Other, Soft Jonny d'Ville, This is ooc, Trans Jonny d'Ville, brian and bertie are mentioned, marius shows up quickly, yeah hell yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:56:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29590359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransTroubadour/pseuds/TransTroubadour
Summary: Jonny is trans, and wants to be pretty, but doesn't think he can.  He wants to wear feminine clothing, but thinks he won't look nice.  While Laszlo is away with Brian he and Tim works some things out.
Relationships: Jonny d'Ville/Gunpowder Tim, the others in the polycule are also there
Series: Laszlo the Tailor [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086965
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	Silk in My Hand, My Heart in Your Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Take the New Texas out of a boy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034679) by [schrijverr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/schrijverr/pseuds/schrijverr). 



> jonny is insecure about himself. in this version nastya never goes Out so dw about the comment about aurora. i might write a second chapter for when laszlo comes back and makes some nice clothes for jonny so comment to tell me if you'd like that (also i will be writing a fic about laszlo dying their hair)

“Hey do you know where Laszlo is?” Jonny leaned his shoulder against the doorway and tried to look nonchalant.

“I think they were packing for their planetside trip with Brian, why?” Tim didn’t look up from where xe were polishing xer guns.

Jonny waved his hand noncommittally and pointedly did not make eye contact, “Oh no, no reason. Just wanted to ask them a question is all.”

Tim raised a brow and looked up, to which xe saw Jonny blushing furiously. Xe leaned forward and propped xer elbow on xer knee, “Well we’re gonna be landing in a short while, so you’ll need to ask soon. What’s the question? Perhaps I can answer it.”

Jonny spluttered and crossed his arms, “I mean, it’s not that important, not time sensitive either. I’ll ask them when they get back, I have all the time in the multiverse.”

Tim leaned back against the crates and casually mentioned, “Well they said they’d be gone for a few years, so if you want an answer before then you’ll have to go now.”

Jonny tried to turn to leave, but immediately crashed into someone, who dropped their things. It was Laszlo, carrying their old leather suitcases, “Hey dear. I just came to say goodbye to you both since we’re going to be landing in a few minutes and I’ll be gone a while.” They repositioned their suitcases into an upright position on the floor next to the doorway, before walking into the armory. They placed their hand onto Tim’s jaw and pulled xem into a kiss.

“You’ll be alright without your favourite tailor around? You’ll have to patch everything on your own,” they fell dramatically onto xer lap, placing the back of their hand on their forehead and kicking their leg, “whatever shall you do without me?”

Tim moved their hand away from their face and carded xer fingers through their hair, “I think we’ll do just fine, though we’ll miss you.” Xe meant to look up to Jonny, but at that moment the ship landed, and Laszlo was jolted out of place. Xe lurched forward and wrapped xer arms around them, successfully catching them and bringing them to xer chest, “I guess that’s your cue.”

They stood up, “It is.” They walked over to Jonny and placed a kiss to his lips, “I love you both, now I’ll be off.”

Jonny watched as they walked off with suitcase in hand, and despite himself, his mechanical heart ached. _He had agreed to this, but_ as their thick heels clicked out of earshot, he longed for something. Something he knew, but refused to say.

~~~

Tim wrapped his arms around Jonny, and placed his chin on his head, “Hey love.” He said with no real intention of anything. The two stood in Jonny’s room.

“Hi,” Jonny said distantly. It was obvious that he was lost in thought. Tim shook him ever so slightly and he snapped out of his mind, “What’s been going on with you. You’ve seemed more… awkward in the past couple of weeks ever since Laszlo dyed their hair. What’s wrong, now that their hair is brown you can’t tell your three partners apart?” He teased.

“Their hair isn’t just brown. It looks like those paintings they hang in their room, it’s kinda gold, kinda pink, but it’s all in the brown.” Jonny grumbled, though he was right.

“Pretty sure that’s the point, Jonny-love. But that’s not what’s bothering you, is it?” He tilted his head to kiss Jonny’s temple, who mumbled something under his breath, “I can’t understand what you’re saying, dear, you’ll need to speak up.”

“They looked really pretty and I…” He trailed off.

“Okay, so they looked pretty and you wanted to… What?” He remembered the conversation just before Laszlo left, “Did your question have anything to do with that? That they looked pretty?”

“I mean well, yeah. But there was more than that,” a familiar blush started to dust his cheeks, “I just wanted to know…”  
  
_This really is requiring more cajoling than I thought,_ “Do you want to be pretty?” He took a shot in the dark, but it yielded reward. Jonny jumped, almost knocking Tim’s face in the process, “No!” He defended quickly.

Tim moved his hand to Jonny’s arm and rubbed in a soothing motion, to which Jonny calmed slightly, “I mean. I-I don’t, I don’t want,” he stuttered, “Not like them, I don’t want to be pretty like how they’re pretty.”

This piqued Tim’s interest, “But you do want to be pretty?”

Jonny ducked his head down in a feeble attempt to hide his flushed face, but with Tim’s hand against it, he could feel the heat of his skin, “You do?” Jonny nodded quickly and brought his arms up to curl around Tim’s.

“Okay,” he started, “If you don’t want to be pretty like them, how do you want to be pretty?”

“I don’t know!” Jonny burst, “I don’t think _I_ can be pretty! I mean, you and Laszlo are both so pretty and neither of you are girls but you’re not boys either!” He moved away from Tim and sat on his tall, plush bed.  
  


“Alright dear, but you always seem to say Brian is also pretty, and he’s a boy. What’s different?” Tim tried to unravel what Jonny meant by his statement. Jonny huffed and flopped onto his back, with the pillows and blankets billowing under him.

He tutted as he thought, “Brian just is pretty, I don’t know. It-it’s inherent somehow. He’s just naturally pretty. And-and he gets to be pretty cause he’s tall and made of brass and got to be sculpted into what he looks like. He was made to be pretty.”

_Did Jonny not think he was attractive?_ Tim sat down on the bed next to him, “Jonny-love, you can sculpt yourself to be pretty, not that you aren’t very already. But let’s, for a minute, say you weren’t. What would make you pretty?” 

Jonny thought about it for a moment, before frowning, brow furrowed, “I don’t know. I’m just… not pretty.”

Tim sighed and laid down beside him, and turned Jonny’s face towards him, “Yes you are dear. If you don’t know what would make you pretty, can you tell me what makes you think you’re not?”

Jonny chewed his lip, “I’m just not okay!” He started to get really upset, and Tim could see his face contort as he tried to hold back stinging tears, “I’m pudgy and short and just oily and gross and my proportions are all wrong and I’m a mess.” He buried his face in Tim’s chest and he felt as his waistcoat started to dampen.

“Alright, Jonny,” he repositioned the two of them, and shrugged off his waistcoat, “Can I take your belts off?”

Jonny nodded, and Tim got to work gently unbuckling each and every belt and placing a delicate kiss over wherever it was. He knew from experience that if they were even so slightly tight it could be uncomfortable and would chafe. “Now, I know for a fact that half of those aren’t bad, and the other half aren’t even true. Yeah, you are pudgy, but I see the way you look at Laszlo shirtless, you adore the way they are, and they’re a bit pudgy, and definitely short. You’re strong like them and Brian, and you are just amazing to lay on and look at. How is your pudge any different from their pudge?”

Jonny obviously was trying to think of something to counter, but couldn’t find anything. He opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out but a weak cry. He placed his face back where it had lay against Tim and started to break down, “I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know.”

Tim placed his hand on his head and ran his fingers through his hair, and let him weep, “Alright, alright love I gotcha. I gotcha,” he comforted. He waited until Jonny had tired himself out, and sung to him until he was asleep.

~~~  
  
When Jonny awoke, he was warm, but felt alone. He rolled over to find the bed empty, and twisted under the covers, “Tim?”

“Yes, love?” He heard their voice come from the other side of the room, and he sat up to look. He saw them bent over his desk, doing something.

“What’re your pronouns for today?”

“She/her right now,” she crossed the room and sat down on the bed, placing a hand on his thigh, “How are you doing?”

Jonny started to recall last night, and the memories flooded back to him. He put his head in his hands, “Fine, I’m fine. Sorry for becoming a mopey mess last night.”

“Oh darling no! Dear trust me you don’t need to apologize, it’s alright if you’re not fine,” she moved his hands away from his face, and he looked up at her.

“Promise?”

“Promise. Now,” she continued to hold his hand, squeezing it slightly, “have you thought about what you’d like to do today? I have some ideas if not.”

Jonny nodded, “I think. I think I’d like to spend the day alone. Think about some things, and all that.”

Tim smiled warmly, “Alright, well I have some plans. I’m going to go to the nearest city for a few hours but I’ll be back as soon as possible.”  
  
“I thought we were off planet,” Tim quirked an eyebrow and Jonny remembered, _the Pilot was off-ship,_ he blushed, “right.” 

With that, Tim got up and finished getting dressed, applying a nice red lipstick before leaving with a bag, which left Jonny sitting alone in bed. He knew what he wanted to do of course, but could he really muster the courage to do it? He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and got dressed as normal, belts and all.

He strode with a false confidence that none of the other Mechanisms would comment on anymore, and made his way to the kitchen, where he had breakfast and light conversation with Marius.

“So how’re you holding up with all your partners gone? You seem cheerier than normal,” he comments, raising his tea to his lips.

“Tim is only out for the day, and sometimes it’s nice to be left alone for a little while,” he was spewing bullshit, and the cheeriness was only a mask to cover his anxiety. He was glad he was going to be left alone for most of the day, but he still didn’t like being lonely.

“Well have fun. Ivy, Ashes, TS, Bertie and I are going to figure out how to play a few games of cards, while Raph watches. She said she wants to take notes on how the three of us play, which is why we didn’t tell her that we are purposely going to make it as confusing and nonsensical as possible.”

Jonny took a sip of his coffee, “That sounds interesting. Tell me when she finally decides to melt one of you with acid out of frustration, hearing you scream is always delightful. Oh by the way, where’s Nastya?”

“In the engine room as always. Upgrading the thrusters or something while we’re on planet so Aurora can have an easier time taking off. It seems like almost all the Cyberian tech is gone, which means she’s in a lot less pain, which has put Nastya in a good mood.”

Jonny nodded, before rinsing his cup and walking to the Tailor’s Room.

When he got there, he opened the large wardrobe where Laszlo’s completed clothes were stored. He felt all the fabrics, running his fingers along the sleeves. He felt one that seemed almost cool to the touch, and realized it was silk. He took it out and found a shirt Laszlo was quite fond of, a white shirt that was slightly too big for them, and looked to be one a poet might wear. He quickly found a pair of trousers that would go well with it, and took off his shirt. Putting a hand on his chest, he felt the _tick tick tick_ of his heart from underneath the smooth fabric of his binder. He contemplated it, taking it off, but he had only put it on an hour or two ago. Jonny decided to keep it on and slipped the silken blouse over his head and onto his shoulders. It fit nicely, and slid over his arms and torso smooth as water over ceramics.

He quickly divested himself of his pants and put on the trousers with only a little more difficulty. They were a nice, black pair that fit closely to his legs, but not so that they were tight in any way or constrictive. Tucking the shirt into the trousers he put on only one of his bests around his waist and tentatively walked over to the floor length mirror and looked at himself.

He looked… _pretty._ A bubbling feeling rose in his chest as he inspected the way the shirt softened and fell over the edges of his shoulders, and how it dipped in the center and showed the top of his binder. He moved closer, and hooked his index finger around the skin-coloured article, and shifted it so slightly that for a moment, he could pretend he wasn’t wearing it.

Jonny took a step back and looked one more time, before turning to go back to the wardrobe. In a small left hand section there were attached cabinets, long and short, holding whatever could be inside. He opened the bottom drawer and saw hair pieces and fancy combs, which he decided he didn’t need. He opened the one above and saw something beautiful. Laszlo had described what it was to him once, and wore it fairly often, it was an edwardian corset. His hands hovered over the finely crafted item, before pulling away, remembering how it needed padding and stuff, and he was not about to ask someone for help. 

He closed it and looked at the next, and found another corset, this one grey and embroidered with flowers to match Laszlo’s jacket, though less vibrant. He gingerly took it out and looked at it in his hands. It had clasps, meaning he could so easily slip it on and wear it. He closed the drawer and walked back over to the mirror, standing in front of it he placed it against his waist. He drew the bottom clasp closed and started to work the rest until they all met together. Once it was done, he adjusted it and took a proper look in the mirror. He felt giddy, joyful even, looking at the curve of his body in the corset.

Despite the lack of music, he started to sway slightly, until he was lightly dancing around the room, footsteps feather-light. He got to the walk in closet and opened it, not really thinking about what would be inside. Upon drawing the doors apart he saw beautiful dresses, all fit for a prince. He drew a hand to touch one of the gowns, and shuddered as he touched black velvet. Laszlo despised velvet, is this the project they wore gloves for? He moved his hand to another, one with a skirt layered with a light brown silk tulle. He ran his fingers over it, and noticed half-pearls delicately sewn in like a pattern. The rest of the dress was an off-white, almost yellowed cream. It wasn’t exactly elegant, not Laszlo’s normal style, but it seemed old, almost a romantic style.

Ever so gentle, Jonny took it off the hanger where it was stored, and moved to lay it out on the table. It was sleeveless and sheer, save for a pair of tight shorts that were also on the hanger. He ran his fingers across it, and admired the craftsmanship. He started to take off his shirt, and put his hand back over his heart. The dress wasn’t made for someone with a chest, he noticed. It wasn’t tight by any means, but the flow of it made little support for breasts. Still, for some reason, it felt odd to wear his binder with such a dress, one so clearly meant to show off the wearer’s form. So he took it off. He felt exposed, despite the fact he was alone in the room, which was only heightened by the fact he would also be divesting himself of his pants. Folding them up, he put both the shirt and trousers away. He put on the shorts, and shimmed into the dress. Then he put the corset overtop of it, making the top and bottom fluff up slightly before draping nicely. He walked over to the mirror and gazed back at himself.

He looked more than just _pretty_ , he looked _gorgeous._ The corset accentuated his body in a way that didn’t make him feel unpleasant, and the skirt fell almost to his feet, he looked princely. His arms framed the rest of his form nicely, with muscle underneath a layer of fat that smoothened it, much like the dress. His clavicle was present, and just barely covered by the sheer silken tulle beside it. He took the skirt in his hands and twirled around giddily, watching as the fabric flowed through the air. He waltzed around the room once more, feeling the air around him as he hummed the beginning of Rose Red, eyes closed in contentment. He was soon interrupted though, by the sound of a few bags hitting the floor. Quickly, he swiveled around to see Tim standing in the doorway, mouth agape.

“Tim!” He cried, his face flooding with crimson from embarrassment, “You said you wouldn’t be back for a few hours!”

Tim could obviously see that Jonny was startled and upset, and she put her hand against her face and averted her gaze, “Love it’s been a few hours. I couldn’t find you in your room so I checked around the ship and came here. If I knew you wanted explicit privacy I wouldn’t have gone looking for you.”

Jonny’s shoulders tensed slightly, before sagging, “Just. Just come in and close the door behind you, it’s alright I just- it’s, I don’t know. I shouldn’t be looking through their stuff anyway.”

Tim took the invitation to enter and closed the door behind her, locking it in case of any more intrusions. She took the bags in her hands once again, and moved to set them on the table. Next she took Jonny’s hand in hers, “You know you look marvelous right?”

Upon closer inspection she could see his eyes were pricked with tears, “‘Cause you really do,” she placed a kiss to his forehead, “Very pretty.”

“You really think so?” His voice was so, so small.

“I do, and I think Laszlo would feel the same, especially seeing you in their own work. They might just faint if they come back seeing you dressed up all pretty.”

Jonny cracked a sheepish smile, and his blush grew impossibly stronger, “S-so uh, what did you get?” He gestured to the bags.

“Oh! I went into the city and got some things that I thought make you feel prettier, so you can have some stuff of your own. Most of the stuff is pretty tame compared to the dress you have on, though. Do you want to see?”

_Tim had gotten me gifts!!!_ “Yeah, I’d like that.” Tim reached for the bag and unfolded a shirt, much like the one Jonny was wearing earlier, except this one was a nice dark jewel red, and opened much wider at the top, so much so that it would almost fall off his shoulders.

“I think Laszlo would approve of it, and I can imagine you feeling very elegant in this,” Tim explained. Jonny nodded, and she put it in his hands, and he immediately ran the fabric between his thumb and index finger, “Thank you, love, I really like it.”

“That’s not all I got! You really think I was shopping for a few hours and only got you a shirt? No no no my dear, I have planned to spoil you, now look at this.” She dumped out the bag, and goodies of all sorts spilled onto the table. Jonny could see jewelry, pants, a few skirts, a couple more shirts, and even two or three pairs of shoes. He blindly stuck his hand in the pile, and drew out a pair of black leather suspenders, “These are like Brian’s! I think you’d look great in suspenders, plus you’re the only one in our relationship that doesn't have any.” She explained.

The two of them rummaged through the pile of clothes, with Tim explaining why she got each thing, and Jonny thanking her while the flush in his face grew stronger. Once they were done with poking around, he decided to try some articles on. He took pieces he liked and pulled an outfit together, although he wasn’t ready for wearing skirts around the rest of the crew. He decided on a pair of high waisted, black and grey pinstripe pants overtop black, small heeled black boots. He also wore the red blouse, and without his binder he could see the curve of his pale chest from where the shirt dipped down in the front.

“Can I put some makeup on you?”  
  
“What?” Jonny asked, startled.

“I think you would look very nice in some makeup, on top of the lovely paint you already have on, of course,” Tim explained. Jonny bit his lip, before nodding. Tim clapped her hands together and ushered him to Laszlo’s desk, which had a small corner full of makeup. Sitting him down, she grabbed his face and an eyeshadow palette and brushes. She got to work, adding little details across his face. Soon, it was done, and she brought Jonny to the mirror.

Jonny’s heart may as well have burst when he saw himself, standing next to Tim. He looked just as pretty as her, and he stepped closer to inspect his face. Dark red eyeshadow was layered over the black paint, and was patted over his eyelid. It faded and blurred the lines that streaked his face, and diffused it into his skin. The look reminded him of something Laszlo would wear, and he felt happy in it.

“Thank you, Tim,” he whispered, still staring at himself.

“Do you feel pretty?”

“Yes, yes I do feel pretty.”

  
  


Laszlo and Brian wouldn’t be coming back for a few years, but Bertie was ecstatic when he saw Jonny’s outfit. And no one else had to hear about the dress, it was Jonny and Tim’s secret for now.


End file.
